My Journey In The Marine Corps

October 2, 2000

My journey in the Marine Corps was started on October 2, 2000. This was the day that I left home on a bus to the airport, to get on a plain headed west to Boot Camp at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) San Diego California.

After the plane ride, we waited for a bus to come get us and take us on the 45 min ride (or so we thought), to MCRD. They had us keep our heads down the entire bus ride to disorient us and keep us from really knowing which direction we were going. In reality, the base was very close to the airport, which was a tease because we could see planes coming and going from our barracks all thoughout boot camp.

Once off the bus we had to stand at attention as they called off our names. Just to make sure you know where to put your feet at attention, there are yellow footprints on the ground at the exact angle of attention for you to stand on, as the Drill Instructor proceeded to scream at and threaten the number 2 right out of you.

Boot Camp is a life changer, if you try and get the most out of it. If you actually try and understand the purpose behind it, a teen age boy, will learn how to become a man. I learned a lot about life, what's important, what's not, the importance of family, discipline, the list goes on. On December 29th 2000 my platoon graduated and was sent out to be UNITED STATES MARINES

From there, I went to Engineer school to become a Combat Engineer. This was at Camp Lejune North Carolina in a section called Courthouse Bay. Here we learned about a lot of different things, from construction, to demolition, using explosives, bridge building, etc. Engineers are known as the jack of all trades, seems fitting..

Graduation from Engineer school was April 21, 2001. There was a brief five month period in between then and when things drastically changed for this country on September 11, 2001.

Around the end of 2002 we started to hear rumors that things were about to happen. A few weeks past before we got official word, that we were about to head overseas to start a WAR.

Everyone has their own opinion on war, and their own ideas on what actually has happened over the last 10 years, but this page tells my story, from my prospective. If you'd like, take a look at the links on the left and the right, and read about my experiences.